#35 DEDICATED TO CHRIST 8-25-26

The Passover is one of the most important events in the Old Testament because it teaches us that God remembers His people, judges sin, keeps His promises, and provides a way of salvation. Israel was enslaved in Egypt, and God was preparing to deliver them. He instructed each household to take a lamb, sacrifice it, and place its blood upon the doorposts. When judgment came through the land, the houses marked by the blood were spared (Exodus 12:12-13).

But the Passover is much bigger than the story of Israel leaving Egypt.

The Passover points us to Jesus.

That is one of the great principles for reading the Bible. Jesus is the point. The Old Testament is not merely a collection of ancient stories about ancient people. It is the unfolding story of God’s redemptive purpose that ultimately leads us to Christ. Jesus told the religious leaders, “You search the Scriptures, for you think that in them you have eternal life. And these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39).

The Scriptures testify of Christ.

The Passover testifies of Christ.

The lamb testifies of Christ.

The blood testifies of Christ.

The deliverance from Egypt points forward to the greater deliverance that would come through Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist looked at Jesus and declared, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). The lamb in Egypt could preserve a person’s physical life for a night, but Jesus came to deal with the greatest problem humanity has ever faced. Sin.

That distinction is important.

We often think our greatest problems are physical problems. We worry about sickness, poverty, persecution, loneliness, disappointment, and suffering. Those things are real, and God cares about them. But none of them is our ultimate problem. Our greatest problem is sin because sin separates us from God and places us under judgment.

That is why Jesus came.

God was doing something far greater in the Passover than simply getting Israel out of Egypt. He was teaching His people about Himself and preparing the world for the coming Redeemer. The exodus was a real historical event, but it also pointed beyond itself. It was part of the great story of redemption that would culminate in Jesus Christ.

The blood on the doorposts points us toward the blood of Christ.

The lamb points us toward the Lamb of God.

The deliverance from slavery points us toward deliverance from sin.

The Passover points us toward Calvary.

And when we understand that, we begin to understand what it means to be dedicated to Christ.

TRUSTING GOD WHEN WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND

There are things God does that we will never completely understand.

There are things about God that He has not revealed to us. There are things about His providence, His judgment, His timing, and His purposes that remain beyond our ability to comprehend.

And that is okay.

We do not have to understand everything God does in order to trust Him.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). That is not a suggestion for the easy days. It is especially important when we encounter something we do not understand.

Faith means trusting God when we cannot see everything He sees.

We know what He has revealed. We do not know everything He knows.

We see a moment. He sees eternity.

We see circumstances. He sees the whole story.

We see the present. He sees the beginning and the end.

Our responsibility is not to sit in judgment upon God. Our responsibility is to trust Him.

Sometimes people approach difficult passages of Scripture as though God must stand before the human court and explain Himself. But God is not on trial before us. He is the Creator, and we are the creation.

That does not mean we cannot ask questions. It means that we approach our questions with humility.

We should never forget how little we know.

We are limited creatures trying to understand an infinite God. We possess only a fraction of the knowledge necessary to understand every circumstance of history. God possesses perfect knowledge.

That should produce humility.

When we read about the judgments God brought upon Egypt, we should remember that we are reading about a world of sin, rebellion, oppression, and divine judgment. Pharaoh had hardened his heart against God and refused His repeated commands to release God’s people (Exodus 5:1-2; 8:15; 9:12). We should be very careful about passing judgment on God when we have not even begun to comprehend everything involved.

God does not need us to defend Him.

But we do need to defend our own hearts against unbelief.

The devil would love to turn difficult questions into reasons to distrust God. He would love to make us believe that because we cannot understand something, God must be wrong.

Do not fall into that trap.

You can trust God without understanding God.

In fact, there will be many moments in your life when that is exactly what faith requires.

CHRIST IS THE CENTER OF THE SCRIPTURES

The Passover was not ultimately about how impressive Israel was. It was about how faithful God was.

Israel was helpless.

God was powerful.

Israel needed deliverance.

God provided deliverance.

And God did it according to His own purpose.

That same pattern reaches its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. We were helpless because of sin, and God provided salvation through His Son.

The Gospel is not fundamentally a story about what humanity accomplished for God.

It is the story of what God accomplished for humanity through Christ.

Jesus is the hero of Scripture.

He is the center of redemption.

He is the Lamb.

He is the Savior.

He is the Lord.

He is the One through whom God has reconciled Jew and Gentile into one body through the cross (Ephesians 2:13-18).

That means that when we read the Old Testament, we should be looking for Christ. We should read it with our eyes open to God’s redemptive purpose.

When we read about Noah, we should think about salvation.

When we read about Abraham, we should think about faith.

When we read about Moses, we should think about deliverance.

When we read about the Passover lamb, we should think about Jesus.

When we read about the sacrifices, we should think about Calvary.

When we read the prophets, we should look for the promises concerning Christ.

The Bible is not ultimately about us.

The Bible is about Him.

And when we see Him more clearly, we will love Him more deeply.

FROM SAVED TO DEDICATED

Jesus did not merely die to rescue us from condemnation. He died so that we could belong to Him.

“Christ died for us” is the foundation of Christianity (Romans 5:8).

But that truth leads somewhere.

If He gave Himself for us, then we should give ourselves to Him.

Paul described this response in Romans 12:1 when he urged Christians to present their bodies as living sacrifices to God. Christ offered Himself as the sacrifice for us. We offer ourselves in grateful devotion to Him.

There are two crosses in the Christian life.

There is the cross where Jesus died for us.

And there is the cross He tells us to take up as we follow Him.

Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).

He gave Himself for us.

We give ourselves to Him.

He surrendered His will to the Father’s will.

We surrender our will to His will.

He loved us enough to die for us.

We love Him enough to live for Him.

That is dedication to Christ.

JESUS IS SAVIOR AND LORD

It is easy to say that Jesus is Lord.

It is much more meaningful to live as though He is Lord.

Jesus asked a penetrating question: “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).

That question deserves our attention.

What does it mean to call Jesus Lord if we refuse to listen to Him?

He is not merely our Savior.

He is our Teacher.

He is our Lord.

Jesus said, “You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am” (John 13:13).

Then He demonstrated what His teaching meant by washing His disciples’ feet.

He served.

And He told His followers to serve.

The Christian life is therefore not complicated to understand. Jesus teaches, and we listen. Jesus commands, and we obey. Jesus leads, and we follow.

There will be times when obedience is difficult.

There will be times when our flesh wants something different.

There will be times when following Jesus costs us something.

But it is never wrong to obey Him.

There is no mistake in anything Jesus teaches.

There is no error in His wisdom.

There is no flaw in His character.

He knows what is best because He knows us completely and loves us perfectly.

LOVE PRODUCES OBEDIENCE

Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

That is remarkably simple.

Love produces obedience.

We do not obey Jesus because He is cruelly demanding our submission. We obey Him because we have discovered that He loves us.

The cross settles that question forever.

God demonstrated His love by sending His Son.

Jesus demonstrated His love by giving His life.

And our obedience becomes the response of a heart that has been conquered by that love.

John wrote, “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

That is the proper order.

He loved us first.

He served us first.

He gave Himself first.

Now we respond by loving, serving, and obeying Him.

We cannot judge Jesus by the failures of religious people. People are imperfect. Churches are imperfect. Religious leaders are imperfect. Christians are imperfect.

Jesus is not.

If you want to know the real Jesus, read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Watch Him.

Listen to Him.

Study His words.

Observe His compassion.

Look at His holiness.

Look at His patience.

Look at His courage.

Look at His willingness to serve.

And ultimately, look at the cross.

There you see the love of God displayed in its clearest form.

A LIFE DEDICATED TO CHRIST

The Christian life is a life pointed toward Jesus.

We think about Him.

We learn about Him.

We obey Him.

We imitate Him.

We serve Him.

We love Him.

And we keep moving toward Him.

Paul said, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17). That means that Jesus is not merely a part of our lives. He is to influence everything about our lives.

Our families.

Our work.

Our conversations.

Our decisions.

Our relationships.

Our ambitions.

Our use of time.

Our treatment of other people.

Everything belongs under the Lordship of Christ.

The world needs Christians who are genuinely dedicated to Jesus.

Not merely people who wear His name.

Not merely people who attend religious services.

Not merely people who speak religious language.

People who actually follow Him.

People who obey Him.

People who serve others because He served them.

People who forgive because He taught them to forgive.

People who love because He first loved them.

People who sacrifice because He sacrificed Himself.

People who live differently because they belong to Him.

Faith is not merely believing something about Jesus.

Faith leads us to Jesus.

And when we truly come to Jesus, faith leads us to obedience.

Paul described the gospel as bringing the nations to “the obedience of faith” (Romans 16:26).

That is what dedication looks like.

Jesus is our Savior.

Jesus is our Lord.

Jesus is our Teacher.

Jesus is our Lamb.

Jesus is our life.

The Passover points us to Him.

The Scriptures point us to Him.

The cross points us to Him.

And our entire lives should point toward Him.

He gave Himself for us. Now let us give ourselves to Him.

That is dedication to Christ.

BDD